e statement that "outside
of England no such monuments exist of the power and military genius of
Rome."

30. Wherein Roman Civilization fell Short.

But this splendid fabric of Roman power signally failed to win the
support of the majority of the Britons. Civilization, like truth,
cannot be forced on minds unwilling or unable to receive it. Least of
all can it be forced by the sword's point and the taskmaster's lash.

In order to render his victories on the Continent (S17) secure, Caesar
butchered thousands of prisoners of war, or cut off the right hands of
the entire population of large settlements to prevent them from rising
in revolt.

The policy pursued in Britain, though very different, was equally
heartless and equally fatal. There were rulers who endeavored to act
justly, but such cases were rare. One of the leaders of the North
Britons said, "The Romans give the lying name of Empire to robbery and
slaughter; they make a desert and call it peace."

31. The Mass of the Native Population Slaves; Roman Villas.

It is true that the chief cities of Britain were exempt from
oppression. They elected their own magistrates and made their own
laws. But they enjoyed this liberty because their inhabitants were
either Roman soldiers or their allies, or Romanized Britons.

Outside these cities the great mass of the native Britons were bound
to the soil and could not leave it, while a large proportion were
absolute slaves. Their work was in the brickyards, the quarries, the
mines, or in the fields or forests.

The Roman masters of these people lived in stately villas adorned with
pavements of different-colored marbles and beautifully painted walls.
These country houses, often as large as palaces, were warmed in
winter, like our modern dwellings, with currents of heated air. In
summer they opened on terraces ornamented with vases and statuary, and
on spacious gardens of fruits and flowers.[1] On the other hand, the
laborers on these great estates lived in wretched cabins plastered
with mud and thatched with straw.

[1] More than a hundred of these villas or country houses, chiefly in
the south and southwest of England, have been exhumed. Some of them
cover several acres.

32. Roman Taxation and Cruelty.

But if the condition of the British servile classes was hard, many who
were free were but little better off, for nearly all that they could
earn was swallowed up in taxes. The standing army of Britain, w